Bridging Peace and Sustainability Amidst Global Transformations

Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have long recognized the mutually reinforcing nature of peace and sustainability. This recognition has been reinforced by the unanimous adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions is seen as a catalyst for achieving all other goals. However, despite this growing awareness of the interconnectedness between peace and sustainability, there remains a need to gain a deeper understanding of the specific factors and mechanisms that foster this symbiotic relationship. It is also crucial to examine under what conditions or dynamics we can study such interplay between peace and sustainability. This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of these issues while showcasing how our edited volume contributes to bridging peace and sustainability amidst global transformations.

Complex interconnections exist between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is exemplified by the Peace and Sustainability Nexus. While this interconnectedness makes SDGs initiatives challenging, it also indicates synergies among the goals. Realizing potential synergies requires promoting collaboration among researchers with different perspectives and expertise. However, there is a lack of geographic and institutional diversity among contributors to SDG-related research, and little is known about the diversity of individual researcher characteristics such as discipline and gender. Most previous studies on trends in SDG-related research analyzed publication data from academic databases (e.g., Web of Science and Scopus) with limited author profile information. Using Institutional Research (IR) data from a university in Japan (including both faculty publication data and demographic data), this study examined individual-level characteristics and a variety of academic researchers who participated in SDG-related research. The results showed that the disciplinary and gender diversity of research participants generally increased over the five-year period (2017–2021), along with an increase in overall participation in SDG-related research at the university. Despite the increase in diversity, bivariate and multivariate analyses of participation likelihood revealed that differences by discipline and gender remained significant over time. Based on the findings and limitations of this study, this paper discusses the need for a more comprehensive approach to examining researcher diversity using a variety of data (e.g., bibliometric, IR, and survey data).

Understanding the interactions between SDG 14 and SDG 16 is important as the success of ocean governance relies on effective, accountable, and transparent institutions and representative decision-making. At the same time, ocean governance can help establish peace, justice, and strong institutions in the ocean realm. Mapping the interactions between the two goals is crucial to understand the way forward for implementing them. Despite this, the there is limited and fragmented knowledge on the interaction between the two goals. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the current research landscape on the possible interactions between SDG 14 and 16, to understand better the current research gaps and potential avenues for future research. For this purpose, we reviewed the literature and also sought the opinions of researchers and policy makers via an interactive workshop. The main co-benefit highlighted in the literature is that more equitable and inclusive decision-making processes can render more effective ocean and coastal governance by enhancing contextual knowledge and incentivizing compliance. Research on synergistic interactions between SDG 14 and 16 is lacking, although existing research points out that reducing violence and promoting peace decreases the degradation of the ocean ecosystems, and ocean and coastal governance can reduce the risk of violent conflict. Regarding the trade-offs between SDG 14 and 16, it can be concluded that stricter regulations on marine and coastal resources increase the risks of violent conflicts due to heightened competition over resources. Such regulations can also enforce social injustices, where socially a nd economically disadvantaged groups might face repercussions as a side effect of regulations on ocean usage. A key finding of this study is that there is limited research on the conflicts and trade-offs, between SDGs 14 and 16. More context-specific studies are needed to address this issue. For instance, the pursuit of SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) through hydropower projects could undermine biodiversity on both water and land, resulting in challenges to SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Such trade-offs and conflicts should be better addressed in future research.

This study aims to analyze the insertion of environmental education into Islamic religious learning with a creative imagination approach. In the context of the environment, Indonesia is currently experiencing an increasingly severe ecological crisis; education practitioners are then in the spotlight in developing a more meaningful education, especially in Islamic religious education. The problem of values ​​on the environment is shown in the practice of arbitrarily exploiting and not caring about nature. So far, ecology education in Islamic education has used a textual approach, not an approach that has a transformative impact, and creative imagination that comes from neuroscience. Whereas early age is an age that has the potential to be stimulated to the maximum. In this case, the Bangka Belitung Nature School (SABB) has started the concept of learning with nature, which is integrated into all subjects, including Islamic education. This research is phenomenological qualitative research involving principals and teachers at SABB. Data collection techniques were carried out by observation and in-depth interviews. The data analysis used interpretative phenomenological analysis with repeated transcript reading, initial noting, emergent themes, and subordinate themes. The results show that environmental education is inserted into relevant topics, especially Islamic education, based on creative imagination. The investigation results show that an educational model that can be applied to bring out the value of love for the environment is ecological education in Islamic learning based on creative imagination.

The 2030 Agenda of the United Nations for Sustainable Development is undoubtedly a rights-based programme linked to conflict prevention and resolution. Dignity is strongly associated with human rights and a human rights-based approach to development. Further, dignity becomes a core issue in the peacebuilding discourse. Social cohesion is vital to peacebuilding by addressing social tensions, power imbalances, and structural inequalities. The caste system determines many people's identity and social status in Nepal, where caste-based discrimination is still prevalent. This paper aims to surface the issue of caste-based discrimination as a barrier to promoting social cohesion that would hinder peacebuilding at a societal level. This study looked at how adolescent girls perceive dignity. Hence, in-depth interviews were conducted with sixty Dalit adolescent girls in Nepal. The data and information were collected and analysed using grounded theory methodology. The findings confirm that caste-based discrimination is a violation of dignity. Adolescent girls tried to avoid upper caste people and expressed anger against them, which hampers social cohesion. Issues related to caste-based inequality, as a source of conflict, should be prioritised in the development agenda to promote social cohesion. When dignity is violated, it can cause conflict, disrupt peace, and hamper sustainable development. Hence, peace at a societal level cannot be guaranteed unless dignity is considered a core issue in peacebuilding initiatives to achieve the desired results. The authors believe that the preliminary findings will assist development practitioners in focusing their peacebuilding initiatives through a dignity lens to maximise the expected results.

Numerous development initiatives have been established to support youth leadership in peacebuilding programs worldwide. In the Philippines, development assistance has promoted youth participation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Acknowledging that youth participation fosters peacebuilding, this study aims to examine the engagements and contributions of Bangsamoro youth civil society organizations (CSOs) in Mindanao peacebuilding. Using an institutional approach, this study seeks to identify the enabling environment for the participation of the youth in their quest to become active agents of positive change and peacebuilding. Data are obtained from CSO youth members and other peace actors using a combination of qualitative methodologies. The results suggest that the institutionalization of venues for involvement and the availability of projects given by various funding sources foster robust youth CSO engagement in the BARMM. Respondents cited community experience and school-based leadership training as motivators for joining and establishing CSOs. The establishment of networks among the Bangsamoro youth groups promote participation. However, intergenerational disparities hinder youth participation.

The study of regional organisations has always revolved around the European Union (EU) or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which are frequently categorised as the two most successful models of regional integration often overshadowing other regional and sub-regional organisations despite the fact that these smaller organisations have had invaluable contributions to their respective regions. In this chapter, the author expands the field of research on regional and sub-regional organisations by highlighting the significant role of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), a sub-regional organization from the Pacific Islands in showcasing their contribution towards conflict management. Through the use of the preventive diplomacy framework, the author argues that despite being a relatively minor sub-regional organisation, the MSG has very much been instrumental by starring as a functional and credible actor in the West Papuan conflict. The findings highlight MSG's contribution and implementation of numerous preventive diplomacy strategies, which have resulted in constructive engagements between West Papua and Indonesia, preventing further escalations in addition to minimising the conflict between both parties despite outgoing challenges that has persisted in the province of West Papua.

Proper information disclosure, appropriate public participation, and building consensus among many stakeholders are crucial to the formulation of a successful Master Plan in order to achieve a stabilized and peaceful urban and/or regional development. Vientiane Transport Master Plan (VTMP) considers the sustainable urban transport system under the vision of inclusiveness with the target year of 2040, to ensure the sustainable urban and transport system. A participatory strategic environmental assessment (SEA) scheme is developed within the VTMP formulation study. Although both VTMP and its SEA are still in progress, it is found that the developed participatory SEA approach is effective and useful in identifying and addressing transboundary issues associated with the urban planning process. Also, it is found that a developed SEA approach supports the smooth consensus building across various stakeholders to guarantee comprehensive urban sustainability. It will also enable obtaining new insights and ideas through interactions among all line ministries and stakeholders and setting the possible ways to achieve a more well-balanced planning process.

Environmental justice is concerned with the inequitable distribution of environmental resources and effects and encourages public participation in environmental decision-making processes. This concept has been integrated in urban green space planning and design to ensure that urban green spaces can deliver environmental benefits and improve people’s wellbeing without exacerbating social injustice. While there have been many studies looking at environmental justice insinuations of urban green spaces in cities of the Global North, not many have focused on cases in the Global South. This research aims to address this research gap by reviewing and synthesizing the body of literature reporting on urban green spaces in cities of the Global South and analyzing how different dimensions of environmental justice have been explored and articulated. This paper also attempts to explore what salient sustainability issues that urban green spaces could address most articles are concerned with, as well as the predisposing factors recognized to predict disparities in green space access. A total of 121 articles published between 2012 and 2022 were thoroughly screened and scrutinized. The findings demonstrate that most articles focus on the distributional justice dimension, while not much attention is paid to the procedural and recognition dimensions. Based on the results, a conceptual framework advising on principal criteria that can lead to inclusive and sustainable green spaces has been developed. This framework links the concept of environmental justice with Goal 11 and Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals and emphasizes the importance of promoting public participation and advocating for transparent and inclusive decision-making processes.

In many developing countries, the efficiency of resource has become a prime blueprint target for suppliers of resource. This report examines resource productivity and efficiency in Ghana using the EW-MFA amalgamating with DEA Malmquist productivity index approach (DEA) (MDEA). In-depth analysis was done on the resource flow from 1978 to 2017 as well as the associated utilization efficiency taking unforeseen environmental effects into account. Over the past four decades in Ghana, DMC, GDP per capita, and material intensity (DMC/capita) indicated a relationship that is very strong from the results. The productivity of resource (USD/DMC) rise from 82.4 USD/ton to 125 USD/ton (2017) at a significant rate that is lower in Nigerian and Egypt. The increasing wealth (94%) and population (21%) based on the IPAT decomposition led to the rapid explosion of the DMC, while improvement needed to be done by the technology element (DMC/GDP).The total factor productivity comparison among Ghana, Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria revealed that, on the one hand, Ghana’s economy has seen a significant upward trend with EFFCH 1.061 and TECHCH 1.046 during the past four decades. However, Ghana continues to be a low-productivity, material-intensive country. By optimizing resource usage, Ghana can alleviate strains on their environment, contributing to greater harmony within ecosystems. Moreover, as resource efficiency leads to economic growth and stability, it fosters the foundation for peaceful coexistence by addressing socio-economic disparities. The pursuit of sustainable practices, driven by technological innovation and resource optimization, thus paves the way for a more peaceful and prosperous future for nations and the global community as a whole.

This paper focuses on the promotion and protection of migrant workers’ welfare and demonstrates how the Taiwanese government failed to recognize the importance of safeguarding its migrant workers. Migrant workers are burdened by the brokerage system, which charges them a huge amount of money. Previous research has concentrated on the overall nature of migrant worker circumstances and the exploitative practices of the brokerage system; however, few studies have looked into government-to-government recruiting (G2G) as a response to the current brokerage system that exploits migrant workers. To fill this gap, this paper assesses the current brokerage system of Taiwan and explores South Korea's Employment Permit System as a valuable source of policy learning for entirely eliminating the private brokerage system in Taiwan. Despite the obvious benefits that migrant workers bring to Taiwan, I argue that Taiwan hasn't done enough to protect them. Taiwan should share the global vision of a migrant recruitment system that protects workers and meets local economic needs without putting migrant workers at risk of being highly exploited. This study draws on semi-structured interviews and builds on existing literature on migration and private brokerage agencies. This paper comes to the conclusion that the first step for Taiwan is to dispel the misconception that businesses and migrant workers are locked in an unwinnable battle over recruitment costs. The second step toward eliminating the private brokerage system is to learn about other systems, like the Employment Permit System in South Korea.

Due to aging population problem, international migrant workers play increasingly significant roles in the Japanese labour market. While some studies explored existing social challenges during the acculturation process, the coping mechanisms and the sense of self-continuity among the migrants in Japan are largely understudied. This study intends to achieve three objectives through analysing narratives depicted by the life-line drawing method from 12 highly skilled Thai migrant workers. The first is to identify the dominant acculturation strategies that Thai workers apply in Japanese society. The second is to explore the dynamic of self-continuity among them. The third is to uncover the correlation between acculturation strategies and the sense of self-continuity. The analysis leads to three major findings. First, the integrative approach prevails as an acculturation strategy. Second, the sense of self-continuity among Thai participants is high and consistent, even though they have been pressured to behave according to Japanese norms and values. Finally, there is the positive correlation between integration as an acculturation approach and self-continuity. In contrast to previous studies which emphasize the role of social structure in the pattern of adaptation, this research sheds light on the ability of individuals to enable their own acculturation strategies regardless of existing social norms. The findings of this research hold implications for future identity research to take into consideration the cultural and anthropological perspectives. The bottom-up approach of this study is also expected to provide insight for policymakers to design and implement proper multicultural coexistence policies for migrant workers in Japan.

Peacebuilding is a process often required in the form of activities for both pre- and post-conflicted states. Neo-liberal policy-makers, academicians, and other actors including the UN Peacebuilding Commission often associate peacebuilding with a ‘post-conflicted’ state. This application of the term is limited to activities taking place during a state of conflict and when reconstruction begins. In some protracted humanitarian crises, peacekeeping agenda as per Women Peace and Security (WPS) norms have not been addressed. Additionally, WPS agenda drops the contextual understanding of addressing gender as intersectional to climatic impasse in hazardous geographies where the refugee camps are situated. Even though WPS have lately recognised climate change as a threat multiplier in international peace and security operation, this adoption in the UN Security Council’s Resolutions is still unclear, which is an indication that issues pertaining to ‘human development’ and ‘human security’ remains unaddressed. This paper critically assesses literature to identify the nexus between peacebuilding and peacekeeping processes that encompass sustainable development through climate action by addressing gender neutral roles in protracted crises. A case has been assessed from the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, with a conclusion that considerable interlinkages persist not only within the sustainability framework—economic, environmental, social, and institutional—but also has synergies and trade-offs across economic development peripheries, ecosystem functioning, peace, and conflict management. Blending all functions together in protracted crises, therefore, requires a transition from addressing the complex issue of environmental-economic systems towards positive peace nexus.